Vaporizer



H. EPSTEIN, J. J. MITNICK AND J. M. BERNSTEIN.

VAPURIZER.

lAPPLICATION FILED MAR. 7.1921.

Patented Jan. A3, 1922.

UNITED STA TEsf-PATENT OFFICE.

mason EPSTELN, Jnooirasigigiviox, ANnfJosErn n. BERNSTEIN, or CHICAGO,

JQLUOIS.

vAronIzEiz.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

To all fwhom. it may concern: A I

Be it known that we, HinsoH Ers'rniii, JACOB J. MrrNioK, and JOSEPH M.BERN- s'rniN, citizens of the United States, and residents Of the cityof Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedanew and useful Improvement in Vaporizers, of which the following is afull, clear,

and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in vaporizers for internalcombustion engines and the like, and it consists in the combinations,constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of our invention is to provide a vaporizer having electricalheating elements so arranged that the maximum amount of l heat istransmitted to the ases passing from the carburetor when the t rottlevalve is at or near closed position, while a minimum amount of heat isgiven Off when the valve is wide open.

.A further object of our inventoin is to provide a device o f the typedescribed in which the heat given off by the heating'elements is'gradually decreased from the maximum to the minimum as the throttlevalve is moved fromopen to closedlposition.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed that l is readily adjustable for winter and summer use, only.a portion of the heating surface giving oil heat -in the summer when themaximum heat is desired, while all of the heating surface is utilizedwhen maximum heat is desired in winter.'

.A further Object of our invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed which can be readily attached to an automobile en- `ginewithout altering the construction of the atter.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed that is relatively simple in construction` and operation, hasfew moving arts and is not likely to easily get out of or er.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, formingpartofthis application, in which .1

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device as shown attached to thecarburetor and intake manifold,

Figure 2 is a section of Figure 3,

Figure 3l 's a section along the line 3 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 .is a section of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a section along the line 5 5 of Figure 3. r

In carrying out our invention, we provide abody portion of the shapeshown in the drawings, which has its front and rear faces 1 and 2parallel with respect to each other. A centrall disposed passage-way 8extends transverse y between the two faces l and 2 and .is adapted toreceive a sleeve 4 which carries a plurality of heating elements for apurpose hereafter described. As clearly shown in Figure 1, the bodyportion is disposed between the carburetor 5 and the intake manifold 6of an internal combustion engine (not shown) so that its faces l and 2abut against the flanges 7 and 8 of the outlet of the carburetor and themanifold respectively. The body portion is secured in position by anysuitable means, such as by bolts 9 which project through the alinedopenings in the flanges 7 and 8 and through openings 10-10 in the bodyportion. The inner diameters of the sleeve 1, the outlet opening of thecarburetor 5 and the manifold-6 are the same so as to afford acontinuous and unobstructed passage for the vaporized fuel to passtherethrough.

The sleeve 1 has a plurality of annular along the line 2 2 along -theline 4-1 grooves 11 in each of which are drilled a number of holes. Asis clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, the holes in one annular groove areso drilled that an electrical resistance wire 12Y can be wound back andforth across the sleeve so as to form a series of parallel strands. Theholes in the next annular groove-are drilled at an angle with respect tothe first named holes so that the parallel strands extendingtherethrough will be disposed at a different angle to the parallelstrands aforesaid mentioned. For clearness in the drawings, we haveshown the strands in one angles to the set o the grid adjacent thereto,but it will be understood that these grids grid 13 extending at right'vof parallel strands can be disposed at any ancrle with respect to eachother so as to m. te a honey-comb effect through wh1ch the vapor-izedfuel is made to pass.

The electrical grids 13 which are controlled by a switch 1-1 areconnected in parallel with a storage battery or any suitable source ofcurrent, none being shown. The swltch 14 comprises an arm 15 connectedto a link 16 by any suitable means, such as a bolt 17, and has-a secondarm 18 having a metal contact member 19 which is secured thereto and isadapted to engage a series of stationary contacts 20 carried by the bodyportion 1. As will be seen in Figure 4, each of the contacts 20 isconnected to one ofthe grids 13 by means of a'wire 22, while the wires23 leading from the grids are connected to a binding post 24 whichin-turn is connected to the sourceof current by means of a-wire 25. Theoperation of the switch is controlled by means of the link 16 which issecured to the valve lever of the carburetor. It will be seen that theoperation of the throttle valve will cause the member 19 to engage moreor less of the contacts 20. -The bolt 17 can be inserted in any of theholes 21 in the link 16, thuspproviding a fine adjustment between theswitch and the valve of thecarburetor.

To facilitate the assembly of the device, the switch 14 is mounted in acap or cover 26 which is secured to the body portion 1 by means of bolts27.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The switch is so connectedin relation to the valve of the carburetor, that the contact member 19is engaging all of the contacts 2O when the valve is closed, thusassuring` the maximiun heat to' the fuel. As the throttle is graduallyopened, the switch 14: is swung around and cuts out the grids 13 one ata time so that the minimum of heat is Agiven to the` gas at wide openthrottle, and if so desired, the heat can be shut off entirely.

It will be readily apparent that the construction of this vaporizercauses the gas', which is traveling at a low velocity)when the engine isstarted, toxpass through the highly heated honey-comb mesh or grids,

thus mechanically breaking' up the heavier constituents of the fuel, dueto their impact on the heated wire.` It will valso be observed that thegreater part of the energy necessary for vaporization is Asupplied bythe electric current. The result is such. that all heavy and sluggishcomponents of' the chargev are completely vaporized and easy startinglis thereby assured at almost any Y temperature.

Crankcase oil `dilution is also reduced to a mlmmum, since all of theliquid fuel entering the intake manifold is thoroughly vaporized. It isa well known factthat especially during the starting period of theengine, the liquid fuel is forced past the piston rings and into thecrankcase. As heretofore stated, it is just at this period that thegreatest amount ofheat is given off by the grids in the vaporizer, thusthoroughly vaporizing the fuel that would ordinarily get into thecrankcase. f

Another feature of the vaporizer is the adjustment which is providedbetween the switch and the valve. Thisv permits the vaporizer switch tobe adjusted for seascnal settings. During the summer, the switch is soset that only a portion of the coils are in use when the maximum heat isdesired, while in winter the switch is so adjusted that all of the coilsare in operation during the maximum heat period.

As heretofore stated,-the device is simple in construction and operationand is not likely to easily get out of order. j

The law according to which this heat regulation takes place isdetermined separately for each type of engine.

We claim:

y 1. The combination with a carburetor having a throttle valve, of avaporizer, heating means carried by said vaporizer, and

uneans controlled by the valve for varying the heat from the heatingmeans as the valve is operated.

2'. The combination with a carburetor having a throttle valve, avaporizer, elecl` trical heating means carried by said vaporizer, andmeans controlled by the valve for gradually varying the heat from theheating means as the valve is gradually opened or closed.

3. The combination with la carburetor having a throttle valve, of a.vaporizer, a

connected to and controlled by the'valve for cutting out said heatingelements one at atime as the valvefis opened and for supplying currentto said heating elements successively as the valve is closed.

4. The combination witha carburetor and an intake manifold, of avaporizer disposed between\said carburetor and said manifold, aplurality of electrical heating grids4 earried 4by said vaporizer forheating the fuel as it passes therethrough, and means for cutting outone or more grids.

5.-Thecombination withv an intake manifold and a carburetor having avalve, of a vaporizer disposed between said carburetor and .saidmanifold, a plurality of electrical heatlng grids carried by saidvaporizer for heating the fuel as it passes therethrough, means forcutting out one or more grids, and

`ias

means operably connecting said last named through, a sleeve disposed inthe bore, ay

\, a plurality of electrical heating `grids carried by said bodyportion, and means for Cutting out one or more of said grids.

7. A vaporizer comprising a body portion having a central bore extendingthereparallel grooves ini-its outer surface, a plurality of holescommunicating with each of the grooves and with the inner surface of 15the sleeve, an electrical resistance wire Wound back and forth throughthe holes in each groove and extending transversely across the openingof the sleeve, the Wires in each groove being disposed at a different 20angle to each other.

' HIRSCH EPSTEIN.

JACOB J. MITNICK. JOSEPH M; BERNSTEIN.

